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Cardinal Timothy Dolan

All 115 cardinals will gather in the Vatican for the papal conclave this week and the list of possible candidates is long. Though any one of them could be the next pope, Vatican experts have identified a few potential favorites.

Though he has only been a cardinal for just over a year, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Archbishop of New York already has admirers at the Vatican. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI called him "enthusiastic, joyful and profound," and appointed him to his commission on the New Evangelization. President of the U.S. Bishop's Conference, Card. Dolan could be seen as bringing American-style transparency and governance to the Vatican but his lack of experience working at the Vatican might be a strike against him.

In this photo, Archbishop Dolan is pictured after Ash Wednesday services at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, March 9, 2011.

Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan distributes ashes to a worshiper during Ash Wednesday services at Saint Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, March 9, 2011.

Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan laughs as he greets a procession of catholic clergy outside St. Patrick's Cathedral before his Installation Mass in New York, April 15, 2009.

Credit: Mike Segar/AFP/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan sits between U.S. Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and U.S. President Barack Obama at the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Program at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in New York, Oct. 18, 2012.

Credit: Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty Images

Nuns watch as Archbishop Dolan speaks during his first service as archbishop during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Credit: Robert Sabo-Pool/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan acknowledges applause from the crowd during his Archdiocese of New York Mass of Installation, March 30, 2009 at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.

Credit: Julie Jacobson/AFP/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan joins fellow volunteers distributing food at a breadline at St. Francis Assisi on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2012 in New York City.

Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan prepares communion during his first service and his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Credit: Susan Watts-Pool/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan dispenses incense during his first service during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Credit: Lucas Jackson-Pool/Getty Images

Books bearing the image of Archbishop Dolan are laid out for people attending the Solemn Vespers ceremony for Dolan at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 14, 2009.

Credit: Lucas Jackson-Pool/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan shakes hands with Ronald McDonald during the 2009 Puerto Rican Day Parade on the streets of Manhattan, June 14, 2009 in New York City.

Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan visits Ground Zero in lower Manhattan, April 24, 2009 in New York City.

Credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan looks at the clergy behind him near the end of the Archdiocese of New York Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Archbishop Dolan walks outside following his first service during his Mass of Installation at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 15, 2009.

Credit: Getty Images

Archbishop of New York-designate Dolan participates in a Solemn Vespers, or evening prayer service, ahead of his installation as New York Archbishop at St. Patrick's Cathedral April 14, 2009 in New York City.

Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Cardinal Dolan, Archbishop of New York, offers Mass with fellow Catholics at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.

Credit: John Moore/Getty Images

Bishops Timothy Dolan (R) and Robert Baker enter the ballroom for the start of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as the group begins the three day meeting of their annual conference at St. Louis Union Station June 19, 2003 in St. Louis, Mo.

Credit: Bill Greenblatt/Getty Images

New York Archbishop-designate Timothy Dolan (L) and Monsignor Dennis Delaney (C) listen as Cardinal Edward M. Egan speaks during a Solemn Vespers, or evening prayer service, at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City, April 14, 2009 in New York City.

Credit: Chris Hondros/Getty Images

Archbishop Dolan (center) attends the 2009 Puerto Rican Day Parade on the streets of Manhattan, June 14, 2009.

Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Cardinal Dolan arrives for a meeting at the Vatican, March 6, 2013.

Credit: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Cardinal Dolan addresses the media at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 13, 2013.